Expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in non-small cell lung cancer and its relationship with the occurrence and prognosis of cancer pain.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To analyze the expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its relationship with the occurrence and prognosis of cancer pain. METHODS: A total of 113 NSCLC patients (NSCLC group) in People's Hospital of Pengzhou from March 2019 to March 2020 were enrolled, and 109 healthy volunteers (control group) in the same period were selected. The expression levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α in different populations and in patients with different degrees of cancer pain were compared. Pearson test was used to analyze the correlation between IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α and cancer pain. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting the poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to analyze the predictive value of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α for poor prognosis of NSCLC. RESULTS: The levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α in the NSCLC group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). According to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores, 61 cases were divided into the mild group (VAS ≤3 points) and 52 cases were divided into the severe group (VAS >3 points). The levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α in the severe group were significantly higher than those in the mild group (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, differentiation, and IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α levels were independent risk factors for the poor prognosis of NSCLC patients (P<0.05). Age, sex, and tumor diameter were not prognostic risk factors (P>0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of IL-1 + IL-6 + TNF-α combined for the prediction of poor prognosis of NSCLC were 81.80% and 71.40%, respectively, while the AUC was 0.846 (95% CI 0.753-0.929), which was significantly higher than that predicted by IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α alone (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The expression levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α in NSCLC patients were significantly up-regulated, and were closely related to the occurrence and prognosis of cancer pain in patients.